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Back Shelf Beauties
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Jarhead Some may be hoping Jarhead is some sort of expose and possible indictment of the War in Iraq or Desert Storm, or some statement how our soldiers are badly mistreated, but they're barking up the wrong tree. Jarhead is a personal story about one Marine that helps give us insight into a world most of us will never experience. Based on the 2003 book by former Marine Anthony Swofford, Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Swofford - a young, enlisted Marine training and serving his tour of duty from 1989 through the end of Operation Desert Storm. Along the way, we get to know his tougher than nails platoon leader, Staff Sergeant Sykes (Jamie Foxx); mentor, Troy (Peter Sarsgaard); and the wacky motley crew of fellow Marines who play together, drink together and fight together. As Swofford spends months waiting in the desert, the time starts to take its toll, and he seems to be on the brink of a mental breakdown. Will the platoon be able to perform when it's time? Will they go crazy in the desert before they get the chance? Can Swofford keep it together? Writer William Broyles, Jr. and Director Sam Mendes use Jarhead to focus on one man's experiences while in the Marines - the training he went through, the friendships forged, the frustration of waiting for the action to begin, and the desire to act after being riled up for years to be ready to unleash hell at this one moment. We are focused on how this boy is trained to become a fighting machine, and what happens when he's held back as it comes time to act. In that sense, Jarhead is a movie that shares more in common with MASH or Three Kings than Fahrenheit 9/11, and finds ways to equally move us to tears and make us laugh. Many of the scenes and incidents in Jarhead will feel very familiar to anyone who has ever seen a war movie or known someone in the military. The guys worry about their wives and girlfriends staying faithful. Basic training is arduous. It's scary to be sitting in the desert waiting for the enemy to come across the border and start bombing you with nerve gas. However, Broyles and Mendes present it all vividly with great characters, so we don't feel like we're watching some cliché filled movie. The audience is taken on the journey with Swofford, Troy and Sykes, while learning about their motivations and lives. Throughout Jarhead, Mendes amazingly captures the tedium, emptiness and boredom of the time the Marines spend in the desert waiting for the inevitable war to start as if you are there with these guys. You can feel the heat of the sun thanks to cinematographer Roger Deakins (I started to sweat, it's a good thing I had some ice cream to keep me cool), the underlying tensions between the characters thanks to Mendes, and how Swofford and crew are trying to deal with it all thanks to Broyles. Mendes and Broyles want us to understand the mental makeup of the men, and how they have been trained to kill, how they feel it is their solemn duty on this earth to do so when commanded, and the way this motivation has been drilled into them from training camp to the speeches they hear when the land in the Saudi Arabian desert, but Jarhead doesn't play like a John Wayne movie. This build up by Broyles and Mendes sets up a wonderfully heartbreaking scenario for men who feel their time has come, but might not get the chance to do their duty and brings harsh realities of war to life as they walk through the desert and meet adversity head on. All of this is brilliantly brought to the screen by Sarsgaard and Gyllenhaal (forever known to me as the Double A boys). Gyllenhaal, with his baby blue eyes and boyish looks, is a perfect choice to play Swofford. Thankfully, he also has the ability to transform himself each step along the way. He makes Swofford harder and colder as the movie plays out, and makes the mental anguish the character experiences come to life in a serious and shocking way without going overboard. While the story drifts away from this plot about his sanity, Gyllenhaal regroups and focuses well on his character's need to be the rock. Sarsgaard doesn't have much to do in the film, and almost felt like he was out of place until Troy's huge climactic scene, where Sarsgaard shows us the pain and betrayal the character feels. That one scene is why he was given the role, and he excels. The humor makes us relate the guys, while the drama will blow you away. Jarhead is a very moving and captivating film. 3 ½ Waffles (Out Of 4) Copyright 2005 - WaffleMovies.com
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